“Like Montgomery’s previous operations, Gabrielle Giffords’ operations near West Capella (the drill ship) demonstrate the depth of capability the US Navy has available in the region.

More than 1,000 sailors on board the USS Theodore Roosevelt tested positive for COVID-19 (Image: Getty)

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“There is no better signal of our support for a free and open Indo-Pacific than positive and persistent US Naval engagement in this region.”

Vice Adm. Bill Mer added that the US will continue to operate in South China Sea waters as long as international laws permits.

Recently a standoff between China and Malaysia over the potential natural gas and oil reserves beneath the South China Sea appeared to end as both vessels moved away from each other.

The South China Sea region is a disputed territory where it faces rival ownership claims from China, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Taiwan.

China's President Xi Jinping (Image: Getty)

Diplomatic relations between the nations, which have laid claim to the islands, are already extremely strained.

The recent construction of bunkers on some of the atolls points to China preparing to “protection against air or missile strikes”, raising the prospect of a potential conflict, sparking World War 3 fears.

The islands and surrounding reefs have been the subject of a bitter and long-running territorial dispute, with China, Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam and the Philippines all laying claim to parts of the archipelago.

Earlier this month, China hit out at Vietnam's fishing protest in the South China Sea days after Beijing issued a ban on trawlers in part of the disputed waters.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said its neighbour had no right to comment on the annual summer prohibition on fishing, insisting China had every right to issue such a ban.